Black Targets in White
by leradny
Summary: Innes glared at nobody in particular, shooting arrows into an unfortunate tree near the camp as he tried not to listen to the sound of Syrene weeping...


**Black Targets in White**

Innes glared at nobody in particular, shooting arrows into an unfortunate tree near the camp as he tried not to listen to the sound of Syrene weeping, crying for her sister in the distance.

This was quite possibly the worst day in Innes' life, made so by the fact that he had _failed_.

He tried not to think about what had happened, but it was still such an unexpected shock that it kept running through his mind unbidden by logic...

-  
The sound of a pegasus whinnying shrilly attracted Innes' attention as he shot at an enemy falcoknight, but to his surprise it was not from the enemy he had just killed--it was coming from behind him, where he knew Vanessa was somewhere.

He turned just in time to see the knight fall from the sky with her pegasus, then hit the ground with a clank of armour and the telltale crunch of breaking bone.

Innes looked around quickly, noting that there was no one else around except for him who was close enough to rescue Vanessa, and prepared himself to run across the field.

But before he did, he took out his longbow and shot at that archer preparing to attack her again.

-  
When Innes knelt by Vanessa's side to examine her injuries closely, he was discouraged by the fact that she was much worse off than he'd realised at first. The arrow had not hit her pegasus, as he had thought initially, but _Vanessa_, in the shoulder. Besides that, her right arm appeared to be broken in several places, and she did not appear to be conscious.

The prince sighed and propped her up, taking hold of the fletched end of the arrow and breaking it quickly. He ignored her jerk of pain as he pulled the rest of it through--it was probably a good sign she was conscious enough to feel pain.

On an instinct Innes whirled and caught an arrow headed for him, then nocked it on his bow and shot at the very same archer who thought he could hit Frelia's prince.

He glared at the figure on the other end of the field for a moment before slinging his bow over his shoulder and picking Vanessa up. He'd wasted enough time here--the pegasus knight had to see a healer, since he had already used up any vulneraries he'd had and she seemed to have done the same.

-  
Innes ran and dodged another arrow (no wonder Vanessa had gotten hit, there were so many archers here they practically dominated the field), the slight weight of Vanessa still slowing him down as he made a beeline for one of the healers.

A cavalier--no, a ranger, he realised, a cavalier would not have a bow on the saddle--galloped up and slashed at him, poorly, but Innes stumbled back anyway to avoid the attack. As the ranger approached again, this time attacking with much more precision, Innes felt something run down his shoulder, warm and wet like water.

As the prince fell, his mind suddenly jumped to his sister. It could have been his sister he was holding, broken and bruised from a fall, and what would his father have said if she died? She was the favourite, he knew. Nobody would forgive him if Tana died...

But Innes had no time to think about the fact that it was Vanessa, not his sister, before he blacked out from blood loss.

-  
Innes woke up, not really surprised to be alive, to find himself in the healer's tent. Still, he heard a gasp from someone as Tana threw her arms around his neck.

"Brother!" she exclaimed, relieved. "You're alive!"

"Of course I am," Innes replied. He remembered the other pegasus knight and pushed Tana away slightly, saying, "And Vanessa?"

Silence. Tana suddenly couldn't look at him and instead directed a helpless glance to the side.

"Is Vanessa alive?" Innes demanded, not wanting to hear the answer since he probably knew it already.

Seth made his presence known by standing up (Innes hadn't even noticed he was there) and saying softly, "Vanessa is dead, milord."

Something made Innes glare at the floor in disgust at himself.

"Prince Innes."

"Yes?" he snapped at Seth, somehow infuriated at the paladin's even tone. If it had been Tana he didn't suppose he would have had the strength to snap at her.

"Were you trying... to save her?"

"...Yes," Innes replied shortly. "I was."

He threw the covers off and got up, intending to use target practise as a means to stave off that immense feeling of _failure_ he could not get out of his head.

-  
Innes had chosen a bad place to practise. He could hear Syrene crying from there, crying for the little sister he had not been able to save.

As Innes drew another arrow, he tried to block out the sound but ended up thinking about his own little sister again, and how if Tana had been the one to die it would somehow have been even worse. People would have mourned for her all over Frelia, and possibly even Renais because of her long friendship with Eirika.

He couldn't help thinking that he would have preferred to be the one to die instead, so that he would not have to face the sound of his failure in the form of Syrene's weeping as he shot arrow after arrow into a tree by the edge of the camp to block out his guilt.

When the weight of what he'd thought hit Innes, he wavered as he nocked the last arrow and was unable to keep a firm grip as he usually did. Rather than shoot it at the tree and see visible proof that he was cracking, the prince put it back with a scowl.

He would take no excuse for failing twice in the same day--not even if the world had broken down around him and nothing would stay in the same place.

-  
**Notes:** Well, there you go. Tragic oneshot featuring Innes, Vanessa, and repeated references to Syrene crying. It doesn't sound that tragic to me, but maybe it's since I wrote from _Innes'_ point of view...


End file.
